Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British citizens who are resident overseas paid either (1) Class 2, or (2) Class 3, voluntary National Insurance contributions between 2010 and 2020.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. HMRC do not require individuals to declare their citizenship or nationality. Therefore while they are able to identify overseas residents who pay National Insurance contributions, they are unable to determine the proportion of these that are British citizens.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British citizens in receipt of a UK state pension are overseas resident.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions without regard to nationality. In May 2020, there were 1,157,372 UK State Pension recipients living overseas.
These figures broken down by nationality are not available.
Source: Stat Xplore May 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Select Committee on International Relations Rising nuclear risk, disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, published on 24 April 2019 (HL Paper 338); and what plans they have to ensure high level UK representation at the next Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government welcomes the continued engagement with the International Relations and Defence Committee, including during the inquiry. We are grateful for the Committee's feedback on the Government's approach to the NPT, and the Review Conference. The Government's full response to the report's recommendations has been published by the Committee and can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/lords-committees/International-Relations-Committee/NPT-and-Nuclear-Disarmament/Government-Response-Risng-nuclear-risk-disarmament-and-the-Nuclear-Non-Proliferation-Report.pdf .The next NPT Review Conference has been postponed until August 2021; the Government has not yet made a decision on UK representation.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the next Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's priority is to reinforce the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a vital part of the international security architecture, and to highlight the UK's strong track record across all three pillars of the treaty. The Government will work to promote transparency between nuclear and non-nuclear states, emphasise the important role of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in achieving our sustainable development goals, and submit a National Report to highlight our achievements in supporting the NPT.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake further work on nuclear disarmament verification; and what budget has been allocated for this work.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to research nuclear disarmament verification through our well-established Atomic Weapons Establishment programme. Areas of focus include solving the challenges of verifying inventories of warheads or fissile material; and determining how non-nuclear weapon states can participate in verification while preventing the release of proliferative information. The Government participates in international initiatives such as the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification and the Quad Partnership. The Government is unable to disclose budgetary information as it may prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the UN Security Council’s five permanent members have taken to ensure a productive Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The P5 continue to work towards a successful NPT Review Conference in 2021. During the UK's leadership of the P5, the Government hosted a series of P5 meetings on exchanging nuclear doctrines, risk reduction and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In February 2020, the London P5 Conference provided a platform for open and frank discussions amongst the P5, civil society and the wider NPT community.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remark by Lord Bethell on 16 January (HL Deb, col 839) that a country-by-country guide to UK citizens’ rights and associated obligations in each of the EU 27 countries is desirable, whether they intend to produce such a guide; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains 'Living in Country Guides' for all EU Member States, EEA EFTA countries and Switzerland on GOV.UK. The guides cover approximately a dozen different areas including, the Withdrawal Agreement, residency, healthcare and pensions and benefits.
The guides are updated on a constant basis and users can sign up for an email alert for their relevant guide so that they are notified when new content is added.
Where Her Majesty's Government policy that affects British nationals is relevant, it features on the guides and is updated with input from the government department that owns the policy as necessary.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to update these pages as more information becomes available from Member State governments about what actions British nationals need to take to confirm their status under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which of the EU 27 member states they have negotiated a reciprocal agreement covering citizens rights; what each agreement covers; and what plans they have to pursue any more such agreements.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of UK nationals living in the EU for as long as they remain resident in their host country. They will be able to live, work, study, access healthcare and collect their pensions in their Member State of residence as they do now.
The agreement sets out a transition period until 31 December 2020. During the transition period, EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU will be able to live, work and travel broadly as they do now.
We are pursuing a relationship with the EU which is based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals, and centred on free trade. The details, including on the mobility of citizens, are a matter for future negotiation.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a requirement that drones display a licence number on the side of the drone, clear enough to be identified through binoculars, that could be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority if users do not comply with the Drone and Model Aircraft Code.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since the end of November 2019, operators of SUA from 250g up to 20kg need to register with the CAA and their ID number needs to be displayed on the aircraft. In most cases this will be clearly visible on the outside of the aircraft. However, it is important to be proportionate, therefore in some cases the number may be contained within a compartment that can be easily accessed without using a tool.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 4 February (HL705), whether the Civil Aviation Authority’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code includes rules regarding the disturbance of wildlife; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Civil Aviation Authority’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code provides important guidance on how to fly responsibly and within the law. Point 7 of the Drone and Model Aircraft Code has a section reminding users not to fly where animals would be disturbed. Some local authorities also have Byelaws which restrict flight in places such as forests and parks to ensure that wildlife is protected.